Dewsbury doctor suspended over fake whiplash reports

A doctor who issued a bogus whiplash report to help a motorist falsify his insurance claim has been suspended for 12 months.

Dr Muhammad Raheel Shaikh, from Dewsbury, falsely reported details of the accident, the driver's symptoms and the impact of the crash of his life.

He wrote the report for an undercover reporter posing as a crash victim.

Dr Shaikh, who admitted faking the report, was suspended after his actions were ruled "misleading and dishonest".

The ban was imposed at a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) fitness to practice hearing.

The health watchdog heard Dr Shaikh wrote the report in June 2012, six days after meeting the journalist who secretly filmed their discussions

'Quite ashamed'

He falsely stated the man had been "thrown forwards and backwards" in the collision, suffered "moderate neck pain a day after the accident" and the neck pain had "moderately restricted" his ability to lift heavy items and do DIY.

Sheila Hollingworth, MPTS panel chair, said: "The panel considers that your misconduct was exacerbated by the fact that there was a conscious decision on your part to submit the misleading report."

Dr Shaikh was on a regional training programme at Doncaster Royal Infirmary at the time of the incident but met the reporter at a private clinic in Wakefield.

He told the hearing that he was "quite ashamed" after watching a recording of the meeting and later realised that he had "made a big mistake".